Month: May 2016

The fifteenth annual Woodbridge School CCF Suffolk Cadet Target Rifle competition was held at Middlewick ranges Colchester recently. The aim of the day is to prepare teams for the forthcoming National Rifle Association competition at Bisley, introduce new shooters to the sport and compete for the Suffolk Challenge shield and this year’s competition featured teams from Suffolk, Essex and Cambridge ACFs and Woodbridge School CCF.

The Woodbridge eight of Oliver Hood, Will Woods Ballard, Isaac Young, Miles Budden, Rick Tong, Sami Shubbar, Wesley Howseman and Dylan Howseman came 1st with a very impressive score of 441 & 23 V Bulls, ahead of second placed Essex ACF with a score of 390 & 11 V Bulls. Woodbridge reserve team of Matt Strudwick, James Martin, Chris Long, George King, Alfie Davis, Olly Buchanan, and two reserves from Essex ACF, came a fantastic 3rd with a score of 345 and 6 V Bulls.

Our team also took the top six places in the individual competition with Wesley Howseman coming 1st out of 44 cadets. This was a very good result and will make picking the team for Bisley this year all the more difficult.

Mr K J Stollery, Master i/c Shooting, and Mr A Rogers, Shooting Coach

Many congratulations to Fergus Gathorne-Hardy who came third in the 5-9 category of the 500 Words 2016 by BBC Radio 2. This morning Fergus received his award at the Shakespeare’s Globe and was interviewed live on the BBC.

http://bbc.in/1Ttqbfa (41:16)

Here is Fergus’s story:

THE SMOKING PIPE
The river smells different when it’s full or empty. As we approached the Thames, the old brick warehouses looming on either side, we caught the rusty, smudgy scent of low tide. My dad lifted me over the wall to check the coast was clear.

“I can see a way down’, I told him, and we dropped onto the stony shore. Only it wasn’t stones: under our feet lay a carpet of animal bones, broken pottery, shells and other treasures. Suddenly, I heard a crunching noise. A figure in black leather boots was moving towards us, the torn edges of his sweeping coat almost brushing the beach as he swept a metal detector back and forth, ticktockticktock, like an old grandfather clock. His head was bent low, but as he reached us, he looked straight into my face with a pair of brilliant blue eyes. ‘Mudlarking, are we?’ he wheezed. ‘Found anything yet?’
‘Er, not yet, no,’ I stammered. Fumbling with wrinkly brown fingers in a pocket, the man pulled out a magnificent white clay pipe.

‘Yours, if you want it’, grunted the man, thrusting it towards me. The pipe gleamed like moonlight against his muddy hands. I took it, and it felt smooth and cold, like a piece of fresh chalk. All of a sudden I noticed that a thin whisper of smoke had begun to curl out of the wider end. I whipped round to show Dad, but stopped in amazement. The skyscrapers and the Shard, and all the bridges had disappeared: there was just a thick, soft fog all around me, like being under my duvet in bed. And that’s when I noticed something else. The rumble of buses and taxis and planes overhead had utterly stopped. Instead, I could hear the strangest things: small splashes of water, a clinking of metal, and what sounded like horses hooves beating along. The pipe in my hand now felt warm.

‘Proper peasouper’ came a whisper right in my ear, though I could see nothing. ‘You don’t want to be out in those, all sorts of brigands and cutpurses and vagabonds about…’ A cold finger that stank of seaweed touched my cheek. I yelled, and fell backwards, and the pipe flew out of my hands. I heard the plop as it hit the river water. Pushing myself up from the grimy shore, I saw my Dad still waiting by the river wall. Behind him was the London Eye and red buses stacked at the traffic lights, and the winter sun was shining on a new office block. But there was no sign of the man in the coat. ‘Better hurry, the tide is turning’ warned Dad. I glanced back at the water, where the top end of the pipe was just poking out. Ripples were already edging up its neck. Soon, it would be covered.

On Friday 20 May we were visited by 30 Year 8 students from the Hofstad Lyceum School in the Hague, the Netherlands. Our Year 8 students played host by taking them to lunch and then they all undertook three activities on rotation in mixed nationality groups: continuous cricket, plastic cup challenge and presentations by the Dutch students about life in Holland (in English!!) This is the tenth year of their visit and continues what is a very long standing relationship between our schools.

‘So, Mr Streat, how was the day for you?’

‘An awful lot better thanks to the fantastic lift I got from listening to the Swing Band before the start.  It was on top form and brought broad smiles to everyone’s face – as it always does – no mean feat considering what lay ahead for the hundreds of participants…’

Absolutely true: The members of the Swing Band gave up their morning (as they so generously, and brilliantly, gave up an evening not so long ago to grace the WSPA Downton Ball) to open proceedings with the best of flourishes.  They brought calm to furrowed brows, and made the prospect of 10k seem like nothing more than a stroll in a Royal Park to the beat of the Band of the Coldstream Guards. Brilliant – I send a hearty thanks to Mr Shepherd and all our wonderful musicians (many of whom even stayed to support the runners) on behalf of the hundreds there on the day.

As for the racing, and what racing it was, there are some stunning highlights to report, top amongst them being the victories in the junior races for Sarah Barker (G14-15), Nathan Goddard (B12-13), Amy Goddard (G10-11), Teddie Buckingham (B10-11), Ruby Winton (G9), Jonjo Walker (B9) and Arthur Na Nakhorn (B7-8); close behind them were other top-10 finishers Daniel Davies (B14-15), Molly Marshall, Ella Walker and Ianthe Hill (G12-13), George Rufford (3rd) and Mak Zie (B12-13), Anna Jackson and Clara Simpson (G10-11), Thomas Liddy (3rd), Edward Rufford and George Na Nakhorn (B10-11), Jimmy Glendinning (2nd) and James Hattan (B9), and Ruby Lubbock (2nd), Rose Jackson, Lara Zie and Mihi Forbes Ballard (G7-8).  So many great performances from our boys and girls of all ages (as well as some gallant members of staff – for example Mr Smith (an excellent 27th), with Mr Garvie not far behind (50th) , a host of parents (Mr Rufford first of them to finish, in 20th place), and a healthy smattering of OWs – Tom Wake in 49th the first in, I think).  Save to say, the Woodbridge Shufflers’ slick organisation and the brilliant atmosphere created by the thousands out supporting all around the course made for a great day, and everyone who ran, performed, helped or volunteered on the day deserves our congratulations.

Last Sunday over 70 players from across the region converged on our sports dome to compete at the Suffolk Megafinal. I’m delighted to report that there were some outstanding performances from our school players: Rowan Kent won the Under 7 section with 6 wins from 6 games; Marina Pommier was Suffolk Under 9 Suprema with a 100% score too; Thomas McNally was Under 12 champion, scoring 3.5/6; William Smith produced an outstanding performance to win the Under 15 title and come equal first in the Under 14-18 section scoring 5/6 alongside Lai Chun, who, being older, was crowned champion in the Under 18 category.

There were many other outstanding performances on the day with numerous qualifiers for the next stage of the competition, the Gigafinal held in Manchester in July. With an overall first prize of no less than £2000 on offer in the Terafinal in August, our boys and girls will be extremely keen to do well in Manchester…